Parc de la Maquinista de Sant Andreu

Passeig de l'Havana, 2 - 4

Parc de la Maquinista in Sant Andreu is a big, open esplanade with an exceptionally large number of trees.

Despite being an open park, there is a sort of main entrance at the end bounded by C/ Ferran Junoy and C/ Sant Adrià. From here visitors can admire the whole park in all its glory, which is worth doing, as it allows you to appreciate the sober and harmonious layout of the two areas it is divided into.
These are separated by a spacious strip paved with reddish tiles, with large grass parterres full of trees on both sides. There is a large elongated sheet of water shaped like an orange segment at the centre which divides the park and gives order to its structure.

History

The park lies on land formerly occupied by the factory of La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima, a company founded in 1855 that built train engines. Their first factory was in Barceloneta but they moved to Sant Andreu in 1920 and from there to Santa Perpètua de Mogoda in 1993. The company was involved in building the mainline railway station Estació de França and Sant Antoni Market, both of which have a wrought-iron structure.

Biodiversity

Lots of the trees were planted during the first third of the 20th century, which is why so many of them are exceptionally large.
There are holm oaks (Quercus ilex), olive trees (Olea europaea), oaks (Quercus pubescens), cypresses (Cupressus sempervirens) and white poplars (Populus alba). One of the resting areas is shaded by tipu trees (Tipuana tipu) and very tall specimens of Aleppo pine trees (Pinus halepensis). Opposite, in the other resting area, the plane trees (Platanus x hispanica) and a large tree of heaven (Ailantus altissima) catch the eye.
Two huge groups of yuccas (Yucca elephantipes), a large Mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis) and a few honey locusts (Gleditsia triacanthos) dominate the setting by the lake, while the branches of Chinese weeping willows (Salix babylonica) hang next to the children’s play area.
Construction of the park pond, named after Narcís Monturiol, made the most of two old water galleries. Besides playing a role in the landscape, it also supplies water for the irrigation system.

Art and Architecture

One of the ends of the Narcís Monturiol pond is delimited by a metallic structure in the shape of a vessel with a sharp “prow”, alongside original-design street lamps that cross the centre of the park from end to end. A large wheel in the “stern”, the pond, and inside the water, recalls the industrial past of the land that is now a park. The building houses the La Maquinista i Macosa Museum which keeps historical documents, maps, photographs, models and historical items that belonged to the company.

  • Phone number
    Tel.: 010
  • Titularity
    Public center
Address:
Passeig de l'Havana, 2 - 4
Districte:
Sant Andreu
Neighborhood:
el Bon Pastor
City:
Barcelona